


Feels Like I'm Drowning

by Copiel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Drowning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-27 16:56:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19795081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Copiel/pseuds/Copiel
Summary: As the Blue Paladin, the guardian spirit of water, Lance found it kind of ironic that he was drowning.





	Feels Like I'm Drowning

**Author's Note:**

> This was hiding in my google docs from a LONG time ago, like years. Just a good old-fashioned Voltron whump fic! I'm not sure if I'll write Voltron fics outside of my Spider-Man AU, so this might be it for me. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy!

The mission had started off simple enough: scout the new planet, negotiate an alliance with the natives, yada yada yada.

Naturally, the Galra had already been there, and had taken control of the natives' resources, so it was up to team Voltron to fix everything. As the team's sharpshooter, Lance had hung back, taking out Galra that were about to attack the others. A few of them had snuck up on him, and Lance had been overpowered.

 _Of course it's me that gets captured, I'm always getting myself into these kinds of situations where everyone else has to save my sorry ass_ .

They'd taken his helmet off—no communications—and dragged him to the top of a cliff. Lance could see a lake at the bottom. Across it were the lions. He could see his teammates in front of them, weapons at the ready even though they were too far away to do any good. Negotiations began to take place, rather, the Galra began shouting at the Paladins. Nothing much, just the general "We have your Paladin, surrender the lions or else, we're better than you, blah blah blah..." He even threw Lance's helmet down into the lake. Lance couldn't give less of a shit. He just wanted out of these cuffs.

Then, Shiro shouted something back, probably something brave and heroic. Lance couldn't really hear over his heart beating in his ears. The Galran commander growled, and then Lance was hauled up by his hair.

"Geez, going straight for the hai- ARGH!” The commander slapped him. There was more shouting from the commander, and from Shiro, and then Lance was being dragged to the edge of the cliff.

"Hey, c'mon guys, why can't we talk this over, I-I mean, for real..." Lance lost his voice as he gazed down at the lake. His toes were at the edge of the cliff, the rest of his body hovering precariously above it. The only thing keeping him from dropping was the grip the Galran commander had on his cuffs.

"Obey my orders, or else the blue one dies!"

_Please just do what he's asking, don't say anything stupid-_

"LET HIM GO!" Shiro sounded beyond furious.

"Poor choice of words," the commander muttered, just loud enough that Lance could hear.

Lance locked eyes with Shiro before he dropped.

He couldn't stop the scream that ripped out of his throat. As he fell, he heard his teammates shouting, and a lion roaring.

 _Blue_ , he thought before he hit the water.

Any breath Lance had left was knocked out of him by the force of his body hitting the surface of the water. Naturally, he tried to suck in more air, but only got more water in his lungs as a result. His lungs would try to cough out the water, but he would only take in more. Lance tried in vain to kick to the surface, but he couldn't tell which way was up anymore.

His vision was going dark around the edges. His kicks were getting weaker. His lungs burned. Lance halfheartedly tugged at the cuffs around his wrists before falling still. _Ironic_ , he thought. _The guardian spirit of water dies by drowning._

Lance couldn't stop his eyes sliding shut.

* * *

As soon as Lance fell, Shiro and Keith dove into the water. Pidge would've too, if Hunk hadn't been holding her back. It took all of Hunk's willpower to not let her go and jump in as well, but someone had to stay with the lions.

"Pidge, Pidge, calm down, please, they're gonna get him, he'll be okay." Hunk held onto her until she stopped struggling.

"But, Lance, he's-" Pidge cut herself off, gazing at the lake with a horrified expression. Hunk felt the familiar twist of anxiety in his gut. "He'll be okay," he said, unsure if he was reassuring Pidge or himself.

* * *

Keith could hear his heartbeat in his ears. He was swimming as quickly as possible, but he knew there was no way he and Shiro could get to the other side of the lake in time. If only they had a jet ski, or—

"JETPACKS!" Keith shouted. He activated his booster pack, and shot through the water. Shiro didn't say anything, but he too activated his booster pack.

Keith squinted through the murky water. The screen on his helmet helped him a little, and soon it picked up on something blue and white. "Lance?" he asked. He swam over, finding Lance's helmet. "Oh god."

"Is he...?"

"No, Shiro, it's just...his helmet." Keith couldn't remember the last time he'd sounded so broken. Maybe when his dad died.

"I've got him!" Shiro shouted.

Keith broke for the surface immediately. He spotted Shiro about twenty feet away, supporting an unconscious Lance with one arm, the other treading water. Keith shot over to him.

"Keith I need you to propel us to land. Can you do that?" Shiro sounded worried, which didn't go unnoticed by Keith. He nodded, grabbed Shiro by the shoulders, and activated his booster pack, sending them straight to shore.

Shiro dragged Lance onto land. He turned him onto his chest, and Keith used his bayard to cut through the cuffs. It was only then that Keith realized Lance's chest wasn't moving.

"Oh my god, Shiro, he's not breathing."

Shiro turned Lance onto his back and began compressions. He breathed into Lance's mouth twice, then resumed compressions.

"C'mon, Lance. Breathe for me."

Another two breaths.

"Dammit Lance, breathe!"

Keith sunk to his knees.

Two more breaths.

More compressions.

"Please...just breathe for me," Shiro whispered.

He kept up compressions, and was about to give up when Lance's eyes snapped open. Keith, relieved, let out a short laugh. Shiro had a small smile on his face

Their relief was short-lived, as Lance began coughing up water. Shiro turned him on his side. "'Atta boy, Lance. Get it all out," he said as he rubbed Lance's back.

Keith was horrified at the amount of water coming out of his friend.

When the water finally subsided, Lance rolled onto his back, gulping in precious air. All three of them sat there for a minute, panting.

"How're you feeling, Lance? Anything hurting?" Shiro placed a hand on Lance's shoulder.

"Lungs...ribs...bad..." Lance said between shallow breaths.

"Yeah, I know. The ribs were probably my fault, sorry."

"S'kay...Keith...why're...cryin?"

Keith wiped at his eyes, surprised to find tears. "I was worried about you, you idiot. I thought you were dead!" He sniffled, and avoided eye contact with Lance.

Lance frowned. "M'sorry."

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for." Keith grabbed one of his hands. "We should've covered you better in the first place."

"M'sorry..."

Keith bit back an impatient remark. "It's okay, Lance. You didn't do anything wrong." He gathered the courage to look Lance in the eye again, and was surprised to see blue eyes swimming in tears. "Lance? Are you okay?"

Lance gave a weak sniff. "That was scary."

"I know, buddy. I'm sorry you had to go through that. We're going to get you to the castle now. Coran and Allura are setting up a pod for you." Shiro moved to pick up Lance. "I'm going to lift you up now. This might hurt your ribs, so I'm sorry in advance."

Shiro slid his arms under Lance's knees and upper back, and pulled him into his lap. He froze when Lance whimpered in pain. "I know, I'm sorry." He stood up slowly, grimacing every time Lance cried out.

The walk back to the lions was torturous for the three of them. Every step Shiro took jostled Lance's ribs, and soon he had tears streaming down his face. Every choked sob that came from him made Shiro hold him a little tighter. Shiro wished they could go at a faster pace, but he didn't want to risk hurting Lance more. Keith had stopped crying, but he could feel a lump in his throat every time Lance made a pained sound.

Meeting up with Pidge and Hunk didn't help. Both of them looked incredibly worried, and seeing Lance didn't seem to help. Shiro instructed them to get in their lions and head back to the castle, he would take care of Lance.

Keith tried in vain to clear his throat, but he could still feel the lump. "I'll make sure Blue heads back." Shiro nodded. Keith didn't realize he still had Lance's helmet in his hand until he reached Red's cockpit.

Shiro made his way into his lion. He laid Lance down as gently as he could on the floor of the cockpit. "I'm sorry there's not much else I can do for you. I'll take it slow." Lance murmured his assent and closed his eyes. Shiro was worried that he was going to pass out, but he figured that even if he did, he'd be fine until they got to the castle.

Lift-off was rough; the vibrations in the cockpit made Lance whimper. Shiro's eyebrows creased with concern, but he kept focusing on getting into the air, back to the castle. He saw Red fly past him. Blue wasn't too far behind.

Lance groaned from the back of the cockpit. The black lion's flight had smoothed out, but he was still clearly in pain.

"We're almost there, buddy. Just hang in there," Shiro said.

They couldn't get to the castle soon enough. Once he landed, Shiro scooped up Lance and walked as quickly as he dared towards the med bay. He didn't like the way Lance's eyes were glazed over with pain. The other paladins flanked him, asking both him and Lance questions.

"How is he?" Pidge had tears in her eyes.

"You okay, Lance?" Hunk's eyes were teary as well.

"Don't worry, we're almost done." Keith tentatively patted Lance's knee in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

Somewhere in all the hustle and bustle, Lance had begun to cry again. "Hurts," he would choke out. He was completely out of it from the pain and exhaustion of his ordeal. Occasionally, an "M'sorry," would slip out, which made everyone's heart clench.

"Oh my." Allura strode over to Lance, a solemn look on her features. "We need to get him in the healing pod immediately."

Coran helped Shiro wrestle Lance into the pod. He kept reaching for Shiro and crying "Don't leave me" in the most pitiful voice any of them had heard.

"Just a few vargas, Lance. Then you'll be fit to fight a Flexlat." Coran's voice held none of its usual enthusiasm.

The glass slid up over Lance, and the room was silent, for the most part. Pidge, Hunk, and Keith were all sniffling. Shiro slid to the floor in front of Lance's pod, holding his head in his hands. Allura knelt next to him.

"Are you alright?"

Shiro shook his head. "He looked right at me as he fell. I haven't seen anyone so scared since..." He sighed. The last person who'd looked at him like that had been Matt.

Allura bit her lip, deep in thought. She stood, squared her shoulders, and turned to the rest of the paladins. "I know you're all worried about Lance, but this ordeal has been taxing on you as well. You need your strength. Go clean up and rest for a few vargas." Her voice was gentle, but firm. "Lance wouldn't want you to neglect yourselves for his sake. Besides, Coran and I will stay right here."

Keith, Hunk, and Pidge all shuffled out reluctantly. Shiro remained seated.

"Go, Shiro. You need rest as well."

He nodded, and finally stood up. "Call us if he wakes up. I need to talk to him."

Lance didn't come out of the pod until early the next morning. Everyone else in the castle had woken up early enough that they were present; none of them had been able to sleep well.

The glass of Lance's pod shimmered away, and Lance stumbled out. Hunk caught him.

"Hey, Lance."

"Hunk, I-" Lance cut himself off, clearing his throat. "I-" There were tears swimming in his eyes.

"You're safe now. We got you." Hunk pulled Lance in for a hug, and both began to break down. Lance was sobbing, his face pressed into Hunk's shoulder. Hunk rubbed his back soothingly, his own tears decorating his cheeks.

Pidge, who was teary-eyed as well, tugged on Lance's shirt to pry him away from Hunk. Lance had to lean down to hug her. Eventually, they transitioned to kneeling on the floor, still hugging.

Keith crouched next to the pair and wrapped an arm around Lance's shoulders. "I'm glad you're alright," he said with a smile.

Lance returned the smile and pulled Keith in for a real hug. Keith froze for a moment before hugging him back.

Lance stood up, wiping his eyes. His tears were all but gone. "Thanks, guys."

Allura and Coran beamed at him. "I knew he'd be fine, you're tougher than you look!" Coran said as he patted Lance on the back.

Shiro placed his hand on Lance's shoulder. "You had us worried there. I'm glad you pulled through."

Lance stared at the ground, a guilty look on his face. "Yeah, sorry about all that." He glanced up and saw Shiro's confused expression. "Well, I-I mean for getting caught in the first place, and for freaking you guys out." Lance went back to staring at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Lance, what happened yesterday wasn't your fault, no matter how you look at it." Shiro took a breath. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"If anything, we should've covered you better in your hideout," Keith chimed in.

"I should've been stronger," Lance said quietly. "If I'd held them off, none of this would've happened."

"Lance, you can't blame yourself for what happened," Hunk interjected. "Don't do that to yourself."

"Yeah, well, haven't you noticed that it's always me who screws everything up? I'm always the one who's getting into trouble."

Pidge huffed. "Please, name one time-"

"The time when Nyma chained me to a tree. Or maybe the time I took the warden's Yupper because I thought it was Slav. Remember that?" Lance could feel new tears forming in his eyes. "I wasn't even that close to dying and I still managed to make you all freak out!"

"That's because we care about you, you idiot!"

"Keith, not helping." Shiro grabbed both of Lance's shoulders and forced him to look at him. "It's not your fault, Lance."

"Shiro, I should've been stronger. I'm the one who got myself into that mess-"

"It's not your fault."

"I should've fought them off-"

"It's not your fault."

"I should've-"

"It's not your fault."

“I-” Lance choked out a sob. Shiro pulled him into a hug, which set off the waterworks completely.

The rest of the team joined in on the hug, not moving as Lance cried. He wasn't okay, not right now, but that was okay. 

He would be.


End file.
